


Make It Right

by starkboi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Conversations, Gift Fic, Hopeful Ending, M/M, POV Steve Rogers, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Pre-Relationship, Reconciliation, Spoilers, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-05 13:45:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15171980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkboi/pseuds/starkboi
Summary: "Steve’s stomach soured at the number of the fallen.  He will make it right. He’ll bring them back no matter what."(Steve finds himself in space, searching for answers to undo Thanos' destruction. He winds up in Vormir, face to face with the keeper of the stone. Tony is more help than he knows.)





	Make It Right

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nanasekei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanasekei/gifts).



> for my giftee! i literally wanted to do all my prompts, they were so good. 
> 
> i ultimately decided on this one and i'm crossing my fingers that i did it justice.
> 
> enjoy!

After half of the world’s population disintegrated into thin air, there was an unmistakable hush across the universe.

The ringing in Steve’s ears hasn’t left since Bucky fell.

Even when T’Challa’s little sister, Princess Shuri was sobbing, screaming, and beating on Steve’s chest, looking for answers he didn’t have.

He couldn’t hear anything at all.

It reminded him of the eerie quiet of the water after he had sacrificed himself all those years ago. It was all consuming and he wasn’t sure he’d ever understand what had gone wrong.

They’d gathered after Thanos had left them licking their wounds, cut in half in the most visceral way. Steve’s stomach soured at the number of the fallen. Reminding him so much of his past life, losing comrades, soldiers, friends, they didn’t deserve the deaths that came to them.

He will make it right. He’ll bring them back no matter what.

 

* * *

 

When Thor told him that he might have found a way to get answers, Steve didn’t expect them to come from a raccoon named Rocket, who claimed he’d kill Thanos himself with a determined look in his eye, one Steve knows only comes from a life ending loss.

He understands better than most.

So he listens to what Rocket has to say, and they have an admittedly half-cooked plan done by the time the sun is setting over the Wakandan fields.

If Steve has to go to space to make it right, he will.

 

* * *

 

Rocket has one of their quinjets equipped for space travel and ready to go in less time than Steve thinks is probably safe, but they don’t have any time to waste.

Princess Shuri gives him a handful of kimoyo beads and makes him promise to bring their king back. Steve can only nod his head, tells her he’ll do everything he can. Okoye grabs her gently by the shoulders when she starts to sob again. She nods at him and he understands. Do everything he can and then some more. He hopes he looks as strong as he’s trying to project.

Inside, Steve is drained but determined.

Then Bruce is calling his name from the jet and Steve’s going. Leaving earth behind for the first time. He doesn’t look back, doesn’t want to see where he stood when time stopped and his world shifted.

He will make it right.

 

* * *

 

When they arrive on Titan, it’s in complete destruction.

As they step out of the quinjet, the only sound to be heard is the crackling of the flames engulfing various areas of the planet.

Something bad happened here.

Natasha is the first one to hear the talking. They don’t know what to expect, anyone could be waiting to kill them, so Steve takes front of the line with Thor in tow.

They see her first, she looks frustrated, body held tight as she’s pleading with someone to hurry up.

And that’s when Steve hears his voice.

Steve’s talking before he realizes it, “Tony?”

The cyborg is unsheathing her swords, halting Steve so he can’t take a step closer.

“Who are you?” she asks, venom in her voice.

Before Steve can answer, Tony’s climbing out from an alien ship that seems to be broken down.

“Nebula, who are you talk-“ Tony stops, and then they all fall quiet.

Steve can only describe the face Tony makes as heartbreaking. His chest constricts as he watches Tony, who he thought had vanished since seeing him disappear into the sky, for the second time now, breathe, and talk, and be _alive_.

He had steadily pushed the news of Tony being gone out of his mind for the fight with Thanos. But, now it’s all coming back again and Steve is torn between relief and gut wrenching sadness. The last time he’d seen Tony, the circumstances weren’t ideal. And now they’re admittedly worse.

“Stark!” Thor is cheering then, wrapping Tony in a rough hug, “It’s good to see you’ve made it out well, friend.”

Bruce and Natasha join them, and Steve watches as they all check him over, none of them mention how Tony trembles in their arms.

Steve doesn’t know what Tony saw, experienced, and lost here, but he will make it right.

 

* * *

 

They split into two groups, Natasha, Bruce, and Thor are going to somewhere called Knowhere in the quinjet, and Steve, Tony, Nebula, and Rocket are going to Vormir.

He’d exchanged a short conversation with Tony after the commotion of the team’s relief earlier.

“Steve,” Tony had said, voice small, while the others were talking among themselves, “It’s good to see you.”

Steve doesn’t remember ever hearing Tony sound so quietly defeated. But he can feel the same bone deep exhaustion in himself.

“You too, Tony.”

And god Steve means it, he wishes Tony could have been with them in Wakanda, meant it when he told Ross that Tony was their best defender, and they were weaker without him. Tony always had Steve’s full trust.

He didn’t ask why Tony won’t stop rubbing his hands on his pants, and tried not to eavesdrop when Bruce asked Tony where Spider-Man and Strange were.

Tony’s choked “They’re gone,” was enough for Steve to understand why.

But now, as they’re enclosed in another ship, headed for the place where Thanos gained the Soul Stone that helped him in completing his genocide, Steve and Tony have a real conversation.

“What happened on Titan, Tony?”

In order to truly track Thanos’ path, Steve needs to know if he said or did anything that would aid them.

Tony’s staring out the window, at the vast expanse of space they’re traveling through. There are bags under his eyes and his hair is sticking up in random sections, like he’d been running his hands through it and tugging at it for something to ground him.

“Strange told me this was the only path we’d come out on top of, but I don’t see how, not when Pe—not when we lost so many…he beat us Steve, we almost had him, but he was too strong.”

Steve almost starts to say it wasn’t Tony’s fault, because it wasn't, Tony has been battling and preparing for this war longer than all of them, but then Tony continues talking.

“And he knew me Steve, he _knew me,_ I spent years with that monster in my head, and now I don’t know if it’s possible to reverse this.”

And Tony sounds so tired, like he hasn’t slept in days (he hasn’t) and Steve hates it. Not used to Tony being so transparent and outright with his fear.

“We have to try Tony, it’s all we can do.”

Tony sighs and finally looks Steve in the eyes. Steve is struck by how much he missed Tony, being back in his presence despite the lousy circumstances, has reminded him of how captivating Tony is. How he can display so much in just one look.

Steve has to swallow down the lump growing in his throat, blink away the tears wanting to prick in the corner of his eyes, it wasn’t worth it. Their war was never worth losing the relationship they spent years building.

Tony catches the look on Steve’s face and throws a barely there smile his way, “Together, right?”

Steve knows Tony’s just trying to be funny but he takes it seriously, nodding his head, “Together, always.”

 

* * *

 

Vormir is freezing.

Tony had immediately suited up, wincing slightly as the suit closed around the wound on his abdomen that Steve’s stomach twisted at.

The new suit is captivating and Steve had to fully remind himself to get it together when walking off the ship onto the deserted planet.

Under the right circumstances, Vormir would be beautiful, dark violet skies and the same kind of hushed silence that only happens during the first snow fall of the year. But right now, Steve hates it, feels the chill seeping through the tears in his suit, causing him to shiver slightly.

It takes them over an hour to trek up to the top of the mountain, and the whole way there Rocket is blasting questions at Tony about his suit.

It’d be funny but Steve’s almost sure the raccoon intends to steal it.

Nebula shuts them all up when she announces that they’ve made it to where they need to be.

Before Steve can ask how she knows, a hooded figure comes floating toward them.

“Stonekeeper,” Nebula says, and then the figure steps into the light and Steve’s heart stops.

He immediately goes to activate his shield, but Tony’s hand on his arm stops him.

Steve looks over at him, and Tony’s just shaking his head, “Steve, we need answers, remember?”

He has to clench his teeth together until they hurt to stop from protesting, but eventually turns back toward Red Skull. Looking straight into the eyes of the man who hurt Bucky, murdered, and plotted destruction all for his twisted scheme.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Red Skull’s voice is dull when he replies, “Captain Rogers, It's been a very long time."

Steve scoffs, stepping towards him, "Why are you here?"

Tony matches his stride, a calming presence at Steve's side.

Red Skull floats back into the darkness and towards a cliff’s edge, "I have been banished here, cursed by my greed to forever be the guardian of the stone, but never possess it myself."

Steve's about to add that it's well justified, when Tony speaks up, "Thanos came to you for the stone?"

Red Skull turns toward Tony, and Steve feels his heart rate spike, he's reminded of how deadly Red Skull and his army were, and he doesn't trust him still. 

"Thanos came to the universe for the stone, I am here to merely guide others to it."

Nebula steps forward, “What did he do to Gamora?”

Steve can feel the pain in her voice.

Red Skull is quiet for a moment, seeming to decide the best way to explain this, “The stone requires a sacrifice, a soul for a soul,…she was his.” And when he looks down at the bottom of the cliff, Steve catches on to what Thanos did here quickly.

Nebula is stiff next to Steve and he hears her stop breathing, then Rocket is crying out, “I’m gonna kill that purple bastard!”

Steve who’s still barely holding onto the flame burning inside his chest steps towards the cliff’s edge next to Red Skull.

There's nothing left of the man next to him, barely an ounce of human inside him, and Steve takes a moment to look over at Tony who nods at him to continue.

“If we destroy the stone, will all of the deaths be reversed?”

Red Skull has no expression to his face, decades of being trapped on this planet eating away at his entire being, no longer the self-righteous, cocky man Steve once knew.

“If you destroyed the stone, all of those souls would be lost forever.”

Steve’s nostrils flare, he’s frustrated that they’ve come all this way to get nothing in return. They need a better answer than that.

But then Tony’s asking, “So what are our options then? There has to be some way to counter all of the damage.”

“Perhaps,” Red Skull replies slowly, “If you were to travel back to the beginning, and stop Thanos before he gains control, it might be possible to avoid his carnage.”

Nebula finally speaks again, “We lost the time stone on Titan.”

Tony frowns, realizing something, “But isn’t the only way to travel back in time.”

And then he’s darting back down the mountain, not bothering to let anyone else know what’s running through his head.

Nebula and Rocket are quick to follow him, and Steve has to make the decision of leaving Red Skull behind without getting rid of him for good, or helping Tony.

It’s not that hard of a decision in the end.

 

* * *

 

When Tony told him they needed to get back to earth to talk to Hank Pym, he was admittedly confused.

But then Tony explained that if they could get to Pym and his quantum technology (and he agreed to help), they could travel to a parallel universe and get the upper hand on Thanos before he even realizes it, effectively stopping him from ever getting a taste of the tesseract and the infinity stones, only then will they have a shot at reversing it all, and getting their family back.

“You’re amazing,” is all Steve could say, Tony never fails to be unbelievably incredible to Steve. God, he missed him so much.

They’re traveling as fast as possible back to earth, already alerted the rest of the team of their discovery, and Steve is able to maybe see the light at the end of this.

“Hey,” Tony says voice warm and kind, “You actually traveled into space to find answers Steve, _that's_ amazing, that’s such a _me_ move, I can’t believe it.”

But Steve just smiles sadly, dropping his head to look down at his boots, “I have to make it right, Tony.”

Tony watches him for a moment, before wrapping his arms around Steve and holding tight.

Steve just melts, his heartbeat thudding in his ears from the soft, comforting feeling of Tony hugging him. It's exactly what he needed after the week he's had, and Steve burrows as deep as he can into Tony's chest.

“No Steve, _we’ll_ make it right. Together.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! 
> 
> also this is obviously set in canon before ant man and the wasp, so if anything in that movie disproves what i wrote here, pls ignore that, and we'll live in denial together.
> 
> as always, any and all feedback is welcomed and appreciated.


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